(and other nerdy/foody things)
Oh, the trials of an author, of a Southerner displaced to Los Angeles, the grind of the service industry, and reviews of bright spots (books and movies). Add a sprinkling of gardening insanity and fun pet stories. Y'all come on back, now. Y'hear?

I should say that a fair portion of those cherries didn't make it home. Hell, they didn't even make it the 5 minute drive to the farmer's market!

For those of you who are wondering what an aprium is, it's a plum / apricot hybrid, with about 75% of the genetics coming from the apricot side. It's pretty tasty, and I have a lot of them. I'll probably slice some and freeze them in mini cupcake wells for yogurt in the summer.

I have some upcoming posts that will expound on the virtues of a good, organic ramen, and how to spruce up your ramen noodles with fab veggies and meats! Meanwhile, I have to cook those ramens and eat them. I'll probably end up making a series of it, so stay tuned!

Monday, May 17, 2010

I just tried something new! I made golden raspberry jam, a low-sugar version sweetened with avocado blossom honey. I also made Moore cherry preserves with the same honey.

I tried an aprium. It's 75% apricot and 25% plum. Nummy! It came in my CSA box last week. I put it over plain yogurt with cherries and strawberries, and was completely nummy.

The other new thing: I now have a writer pal who won a Nebula Award on Saturday! Her name is Eugie Foster, and she won for best novelette. It's a great story, you should check it out! While it's not really a new thing for me, it's a wonderfully new thing for Eugie, and I want to congratulate her!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

I've been lax. I admit it. I have not kept up with "Something New" postings. Basically, the concept is that each week, I will try something new. I have still done many new things, just not posted about them.

I also realized how many of my New things involve food. Hmmmm.

So, what are some New things I've done or tried? Here are some since the last post:

Joined a CSA.
Invented a bread recipe (port wine swirl. num.).
Taken a Vegas trip with my love.
Played Blackjack at a real table for real money.
Worked with real artichokes.
Made a bunch of recipes from a single duck.
Ate yellowtail collar at a sushi restaurant (it was the bomb!).
Rendered and used duck fat. Rendered lard.
Made homemade cat food.
Bought a ceramic Neti pot and made my own blend for the water.
Made pancetta-wrapped asparagus.
Made from-scratch demi-glace.
Made pita bread.
Used Rhubarb in a recipe.
Wandered around the disused animal cages in an abandoned zoo.
Walked the entire length of the Las Vegas strip.
Cooked fresh morel mushrooms.
Successfully trapped a missing cat.
Baked bread on a grill.
Went to a farmer's market on a Los Angeles rooftop.
Saw the view from the Griffith Park Observatory.
Waited on Gary Sinise.
Waited on Nichelle Nichols (ZOMG!!!1!).
Kept my cool in a rude situation.
Lost my cool actually defending myself (a first!) in another situation.
Tried a new (to me) herb called za'atar.
Baked potatoes after coating them in bacon grease.
Stayed in a hotel room twice the size of my house.
Located organic ramen!
Successfully wrangled a free room upgrade.
Successfully salvaged melted chap-stick.
Dehydrated fruit in my car. Yes, intentionally and with good effect.
Eaten from excellent food trucks.
And last, I *think* I might have positively affected my grade in a class through delicate bribery - with jam.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Welcome to the new segment: STUFF JENNA LIKES!
Here, at Stuff Jenna Likes, we review, well, stuff that Jenna likes. As in, likes, uses, buys, and thinks are good anough to recommend to you.

The current new love:

Trader Joe's Vintage Root Beer

This is a new beverage available at Trader Joe's. It's $3.99 a 4-pack. There is no HFCS (high fructose corn syrup)! Yay! Just cane sugar. It has a mellow, smooth root beer flavor. It's not overly fizzy, either. I need to buy more and turn them into floats. I'm cutting back on soda and trying to eliminate HFCS entirely, so these are a good splurge. I actually like these a little bit more than the Hansen's root beer, which also has no HFCS, but as these are a mite pricier, that's what I'd expect. Usually TJ's carries mostly diet Hansen's (ICK! Artificial sweetener!), so this is also great for a soda that I can be assured is available in non-diet form.

They also have a Cola version and an Orange Cream soda version. I tried the Cola version and did not like it at all. Tasted like diet. Blech. But this is not "Stuff that Jenna Does NOT Like", so I'll skip that review for now. In all fairness, Gabriel liked it. I will try the orange version and get back to you.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Ooooh, tasty! The sugar snap peas made their way into some organic ramen along with one of the baby garlics and a carrot. I'm thinking that a brown butter sage sauce would be good on something this week. But what?

I need to get cracking with potatoes - I'm still 4 weeks behind in eating our supply. However, we are not getting more this week, so I can catch up maybe. I saw an interesting accordion potatoes recipe - I'll try it and see if it's good.

Also bought a flat of organic strawberries from a farm on Free Comic Book Day. Twelve baskets of berries for $16. *gasp*

So far, I've had a lot of strawberries and yogurt, chopped a lot for the freezer, and made a strawberry rhubarb jam. I still have strawberry ice cream and dried strawberries to do. Then, I have to invent other things to do with 9,000 more strawberries.

Oh, and what's coming in the CSA box this week? You guessed it! Strawberries! *facepalm*

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Credit is a bitch. It puts all your financial flaws in black-and-white hard copy.

But you need it if you want to finance a car, house, etc. I want a house.

Creditboards has some excellent forums that one can learn from. It turns out that Consumer Reporting Agencies have been fed a lot of lies and inaccuracies from creditors and debt collectors. If you clear up their lies, then your credit score improves, which in turn increases your credit options and improves your interest rates.

Like anything worth doing, improving or understanding your credit is work. It also means that you have to answer some really uncomfortable questions about your habits. It means that you have to be honest with yourself, do your homework, and make changes. It even means that you have to make some sacrifices. However, you should know your rights, and knowledge cannot be taken from you. Learn more about your credit today! Take charge of your financial life.